Today we’re going to talk about the last step you need to take before you hit the publish button. Cover Design is an important part of the publishing process, and can make or break your book. It’s your elevator pitch when you’re not around, the face of your story. Your cover does all the talking for you; if it’s lackluster, no one is going to listen. Read more

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Welcome back, everyone. Last week we talked about editing, and why it’s one of the most important steps to take before you publish. This week we’re going to go over formatting, for both print and ebook, and how this is an area you may be able to tackle yourself. Read more

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Welcome back! Last week I gave a brief overview of the three things every self published author needs to do before they hit the publish button. Today I’m going to talk a little more about editing, and why it’s one of the most important steps to take before you publish. Read more

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The time has finally come. You’ve just typed “The End”, and now your great masterpiece of a novel is finished. Time to upload that sucker onto Amazon and hit the publish button. You’re on your way to becoming a literary legend!

Whoa there, Next Greatest Living Author Ever. Get your cursor off that publish button. I hate to tell you this, but you’re not even close to being finished. There are three more steps that you absolutely must take before you hit the publish button. These steps are crucial to insuring that your book is a quality product that readers are going to want to buy. Not taking these steps is the equivalent of giving birth, then leaving that newborn on your front steps and shouting “All right, go out there and make your parents proud!”. You wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing to a baby; why would you do that to your book? Your book that you slaved over, that you poured your heart into for days, weeks, maybe even years. Your words deserve so much more than that, so take the time to polish before you publish. Read more

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The last 3 1/2 months have been spent trying our best to find a way to work around some very serious issues that arose during the judging phase of the 2016 Short Story Contest. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to work around these issues, we have had to make a very tough decision.

At this time, we have decided not to publish the 2016 anthology. Due to the issues we encountered, we have also canceled plans for future anthologies, and will not be holding another short story contest.

This was not an easy decision to make. We know that the authors of the winning stories worked very hard on their submissions, and we very much looked forward to publishing these amazing short stories. However, the quality of the remaining submissions was not up to our standards; the number of submissions that failed to follow one or more of the contest guidelines was distressingly high, and many submissions had not been edited at all, or appeared to be the first draft of a story. Attempts to correct some of the issues in stories we felt might have promise proved to be futile. In the end, we felt that cobbling together a book with what little we had that was readable would be horribly unfair to the winning stories.

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First of all, it’s still in the works. We’ve hit some bumps in the road, but we’ll address them all and keep moving toward our scheduled publication date despite them. We’ll also share a little about some of them, in the interest of transparency to what we’re up to over here at Sudden Insight Publishing. But that’s another post, truly worthy of a ‘story between the stories’ moniker. Right now, it’s time to discuss one thing.

We have chosen the winners! In case anyone forgot, this was a contest with prizes. For those that didn’t forget, thank you for your patience. The day is finally here. Rather than mix them up in some silly order that is supposed to build suspense but really just causes frustration, we’ll start with first place and go from there:

First Place goes to ‘Next Jen’, by Ian Williams. It comes with a cash prize award of $100. Congratulations, Ian Williams! This story was both touching and humorous, and a unanimous winner.

Second Place goes to ‘The Wizard’s Timepiece’, by L.G. Surgeson. It comes with a cash prize of $50. Congratulations, L.G. Surgeson! This story was well crafted and very fun to read.

Third Place goes to ‘One More Dance’, by C.A. Keith. It comes with a cash prize of $25. Congratulations, C.A. Keith! This story was sweet and tender, under some harsh layered reality.

Honorable Mention goes to ‘Brian Green the Biologist’ by Alicia Walker. Congratulations, Alicia Walker! This story had some strong things to say, and some clever ways to say them.

Sudden Insight Publishing will contact the winners shortly to distribute the cash prizes. All other entrants will be contacted individually concerning their submission. We appreciate the time and effort that went in to the stories that we received, and we are grateful for all of the submissions.

Check back here for more news on the anthology, and other Sudden Insight Publishing undertakings. Thanks for reading!

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It’s time for another indie book review!. Read on and find out what Jay thought of ‘Dolor and Shadow’, the first book in Angela B. Chrysler’s ‘Tales of the Drui’ series.

Angela B. Chrysler has brought world building to breathtaking heights with ‘Dolor and Shadow’. The first book in the ‘Tales of the Drui’ saga, ‘Dolor and Shadow’ begins what promises to be an epic fantasy series. Chrysler lays it all out in clear terms, showing the reader right away that this is a world that is as compelling and complex as any other. From philosophy and religion to geography and architecture, to weapons and mythology and symbolism, the author introduces us to every aspect of this land and its varied peoples with poetic prose that draws us easily into the story.

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It’s time for another indie book review!. Read on and find out what Jay thought of Past Life Strife, the first book in Christina McMullen’s Rise of the Discordant series.

‘Past Life Strife’, by Christina McMullen, is the first book in the ‘Rise of the Discordant’ series. This is quite a beginning; welcome to Blackbird, indeed! It’s a town crawling with mysterious characters, many of them in the ‘highly unsavory’ category. Luckily, they have an Observer, to watch over the more mystical goings-on in town; Seth is a great guy, and he seems able to do a lot to help folks with the aid of his…wait, she’s gone? And what was her name again? And who’s this new guy? Oh, it’s Desmond; he’s awful cool…along with Bogie, a demon that seems pretty attached to the giant Warrior. Hmmm…how is this group ever going to sort out more trouble than they cause? With witches, maybe?

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Book reviews are more important to authors than many readers may think. Just a few years ago, I was not an author; I was an avid reader with a completed manuscript. If you had asked me then how important book reviews are, I would have said not at all. I supposed that those reviews went unread, or disappeared into the ether as soon as the reviewer hit ‘post’. I had no idea that most authors read all of their reviews, even when they get up there in numbers; in fact, many artists scour the internet looking for what folks have to say about their work. It turns out most creative people want to hear that feedback, for whatever reasons they might have. Read more

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It’s time for another indie book review!. Read on and find out what Jay thought of ‘Wrapped in the Past’ by Chess Desalls.

‘Wrapped in the Past’ by Chess Desalls is a cleverly crafted time travel tale. It’s a Christmas story wrapped inside a Christmas story, and a book that is sure to appeal to smart readers of all ages. I have wanted to try listening to an audiobook for awhile; I have also been wanting to read one of Chess Desalls’ books. This was a great opportunity to do both. I enjoyed the voices of the storyteller and the author, and I thought they came together in a way that was easy and fun to listen to. Desalls brought the story to life with her creative look at time travel, and her diverse cast of relatable characters. Janine Haynes added her own unique touch, breathing new life into the tale with her colorful narration. The narrator played her own part in the telling, and it was a welcome addition.

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It’s time for another indie book review!. Read on and find out what Jay thought of Storm Portal, the first book in Michael R Stern’s Quantum Touch series.

It’s always fun to read a book that engages the author’s knowledge of a particular subject. Michael R. Stern is clearly as passionate about history as he is about writing. Storm Portal is laid out as the perfect stage for an epic adventure story about to launch. The main character wrestles with his responsibility to everyone around him in this first installment, weighing every possibility before moving ahead with deliberate care. This series promises to be fun to read and full of colorful facts about history and current events.